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Episode recap: Stevie Ray Vaughan 30 Years On

Post author By michael
Post date October 16, 2020

photo by Scott Newton

Austin City Limits celebrates an icon with Stevie Ray Vaughan 30 Years On, an epic hour featuring the guitar giant’s two classic appearances on the ACL stage, on the 30th Anniversary of his tragic death. Widely hailed as one of the premier blues-rock guitarists, the Grammy-winning Vaughan made magic in his ACL outings and the broadcast captures his magnetic performances. The installment premieres October 17 at 9pm ET/8pm CT as part of the live music beacon’s Season 46. With live music still on pause, ACL continues to provide viewers a front-row seat to the best in live performance. The series airs weekly on PBS stations nationwide (check local listings) and full episodes are made available online for a limited time at pbs.org/austincitylimits immediately following the initial broadcast.

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble’s two iconic appearances on the ACL stage in 1983 and 1989 rank among the most highly-requested episodes in the program’s archives. Stevie Ray Vaughan 30 Years On, an hour-long special, showcases the pair of performances in a rare broadcast, bookends of an incredible career cut short by the guitar hero’s tragic death in a helicopter crash at age 35 on August 27, 1990. The Texas bluesman’s towering command of the Fender Stratocaster was unparalleled, and Vaughan bridged the gap between blues and rock ‘n’ roll with an excitement that hadn’t been witnessed since Jimi Hendrix’s reign, sparking a rebirth of the blues, and inspiring a new generation of music fans. Three decades later, his lasting influence continues to resonate as countless musicians credit Vaughan’s ACL appearances as their inspiration to pick up the guitar. Vaughan and Double Trouble were inducted into the inaugural class of the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame in 2014 and the hometown legend is forever memorialized with a bronze statue in Austin.

The thrilling hour opens with Vaughan’s December 1983 ACL debut, with the iconic riff of his signature “Pride and Joy,” as the virtuoso captivates with his passion-fueled guitar music and blistering Stratocaster solos. Performing alongside Double Trouble, featuring Chris Layton on drums and Tommy Shannon on bass, the guitar-slinger soars on a pair of inspired covers: the title track to his 1983 debut album Texas Flood, with a slowburn reading of the Lone Star classic, dazzling with his ability to play the guitar behind his back, and an epic interpretation of Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child” that is pure rock ‘n’ roll swagger.

Vaughan made his final ACL appearance on October 10, 1989, less than a year prior to his untimely death, newly sober and at the height of his powers, in a performance for the ages. Delivering back to back highlights from his acclaimed 1989 final album In Step, including “Tightrope,” “Cold Shot” and “Leave My Girl Alone,” Vaughan’s performance is extraordinary, displaying a combination of raw power, deep emotion and technical brilliance with note perfect solos. Augmented by the addition of keyboardist Reese Wynans, Double Trouble and Vaughan sizzle with an exhilarating performance of their 1989 smash “Crossfire,” punctuated by the guitar icon’s scorching runs. “This one goes out to anyone who’s still suffering in any way,” says the all-time great as he launches into the shimmering instrumental “Riviera Paradise,” pushing the guitar to new heights and continuing to explore new boundaries.

“30 years after his tragic death, these performances serve as bookends to Vaughan’s brilliant career with Double Trouble,” says ACL executive producer Terry Lickona, “showing a striking contrast between ‘zero self-confidence’ and ‘pure magic,’ but in both cases you can see a master at work.”

“My brother was so incredibly talented,” says Jimmie Vaughan. “Austin City Limits captured many of his best performances.”

Stevie Ray Vaughan 30 Years On setlist:

Pride and Joy

Texas Flood

Voodoo Child (Slight Return)

Tightrope

Leave My Girl Alone

Cold Shot

Crossfire

Riviera Paradise

Season 46 Broadcast Line-up (six new episodes to be announced):

October 3 The Best of John Prine

October 10 Yola

October 17 Stevie Ray Vaughan 30 Years On

October 24 Rufus Wainwright

October 31 ACL Presents: 50 Years of Asleep at the Wheel

November 7 John Legend & The Roots: Wake Up!

November 14 Jackie Venson | Mavis Staples w/Bonnie Raitt

November 21 The Mavericks

Tune-in, log on, and let ACL be a trusted sidekick for entertainment during these challenging days. The complete line-up for the full 13-week season will be announced at a later date. Viewers can visit acltv.com for news regarding live streams, future tapings and episode schedules or by following ACL on Facebook, Twitter and IG. . Fans can also browse the ACL YouTube channel for exclusive songs, behind-the-scenes videos and full-length artist interviews.

About Austin City Limits

Austin City Limits (ACL) offers viewers unparalleled access to featured acts in an intimate setting that provides a platform for artists to deliver inspired, memorable, full-length performances. Now in its 46th Season, the program is taped live before a concert audience from The Moody Theater in downtown Austin. Austin City Limits is the longest-running music series in television history and remains the only TV series to ever be awarded the National Medal of Arts. Since its inception, the groundbreaking music series has become an institution that’s helped secure Austin’s reputation as the Live Music Capital of the World. The historic KLRU Studio 6A, home to 36 years of ACL concerts, has been designated an official Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Landmark. In 2011, ACL moved to the new venue ACL Live at The Moody Theater in downtown Austin. ACL received a rare institutional Peabody Award for excellence and outstanding achievement in 2012.

Austin City Limits is produced by Austin PBS, KLRU-TV and funding is provided in part by Dell Technologies, RigUp, the Austin Convention Center Department and Cirrus Logic. Additional funding is provided by the Friends of Austin City Limits. Learn more about Austin City Limits, programming and history at acltv.com.

Tags Chris Layton, Double Trouble, Reese Wynans, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Tommy Shannon

Featured Live Stream News Taping Announcement Uncategorized

New tapings: Ruthie Foster 11/1, The War And Treaty 11/5

Post author By michael
Post date October 15, 2020

photo by Ricardo Piccirillo

Austin City Limits is proud to announce a pair of highly-anticipated tapings showcasing acclaimed artists who blur the lines between soul, gospel, folk and blues. On November 1, an Austin treasure returns to our stage, as Ruthie Foster tapes her second appearance; on November 5, we welcome one of Nashville’s hottest acts, The War And Treaty, in their ACL debut. Austin City Limits is delighted to announce we will live stream both these tapings along with the previously announced long-awaited taping of Texas songwriting legend Ray Wylie Hubbard on October 21. With live music still on pause, ACL continues to provide viewers a front-row seat to the best in live performance. ACL offers fans a unique opportunity to watch the trio of tapings live in their entirety from the safety of their homes and screens at this location on each date at 7pm CT/8pm ET. ACL has taped before a live audience for its entire 45-year history, and recently resumed tapings without a live audience. The broadcast version of these tapings will air later this season as part of our Season 46 on PBS.

In the tight-knit musical community of Austin, Texas, it’s tough to get away with posturing. You either bring it, or you don’t. If you do, word gets around. And one day, you find yourself duetting with Bonnie Raitt, or standing onstage with the Allman Brothers at New York’s Beacon Theater and trading verses with Susan Tedeschi. You might even wind up getting nominated for a Best Blues Album Grammy — three times in a row. And those nominations would be in addition to your seven Blues Music Awards, three Austin Music Awards, the Grand Prix du Disque award from the Académie Charles-Cros in France, a Living Blues Critics’ Award for Female Blues Artist of the Year, and the title of an “inspiring American Artist” as a 2018 United States Artists Fellow.

There’s only one Austinite with that résumé: Ruthie Foster. Drawing influence from legendary acts like Mavis Staples and Aretha Franklin, Foster developed a unique sound unable to be contained within a single genre. That uniqueness echoes a common theme in Ruthie’s life and career – marching to the beat of her own drum. Ruthie’s latest album Live at the Paramount, swings back to the days (and nights) when Lady Ella sang Ellington and Sinatra blasted off with Count Basie and Quincy Jones. Ruthie refers to her live shows as “hallelujah time,” and we are thrilled to welcome her back to the ACL stage for her first headlining appearance since her 2003 debut.

photo by David McClister

Since forming in 2014, dynamic duo The War And Treaty have won critical acclaim and amassed a following as eclectic as their sound itself, a bluesy but joyful fusion of Southern soul, gospel, country, and rock-and-roll. Known for a live show nearly revival-like in intensity, the husband-and-wife team of Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Blount-Trotter endlessly create an exhilarating exchange of energy with their audience, a dynamic they’ve brought to the stage in opening for the legendary Al Green, touring with the likes of Brandi Carlile and Jason Isbell and taking the stage at the 2020 Grammy Awards earlier this year, performing alongside icons like Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, Gary Clark Jr., and Common.

So when it came time to choose a title for their recently released sophomore album, The War And Treaty quickly landed on Hearts Town—the couple’s affectionate nickname for their ardently devoted fanbase. “Hearts Town is a neighborhood strictly made up of people who all share the same kind of heart: hearts that love, hearts that heal, hearts that don’t see division,” says Michael. “There’s all different types of people within that neighborhood, but they’re still somehow all working together—which is exactly the kind of town we want to live in.” Their full-length debut for Rounder Records, Hearts Town arrives as the follow-up to 2018’s Healing Tide, a widely acclaimed effort that saw The War And Treaty named 2019’s Emerging Act of the Year by the Americana Music Association.

While the new album unfailingly harnesses the thrilling vitality of their live set, each song spotlights The War And Treaty’s heart-on-sleeve storytelling and poetic simplicity with greater impact than ever before. The War And Treaty drive home their impassioned plea for unity in times of division. “We were seeing so much anger in the world as we were making this album, so we wanted to give people something that told them, ‘Stop looking for the next Dr. King or Malcolm or Mother Teresa, and start looking for the first you,’” says Michael. “Right now a lot of people are feeling so deeply engulfed in pain and surrounded by negativity, and sometimes you just need to hear that you’re good,” says Tanya. “That’s the whole idea behind Hearts Town: no one’s trying to change what you think or how you talk or anything else about you. You’re just fine the way you are.” We’re proud to welcome The War and Treaty to the ACL stage.

Tags Ray Wylie Hubbard, Ruthie Foster, The War And Treaty

Episode Recap Featured New Broadcast News

British singer/songwriter Yola makes her ACL debut

Post author By michael
Post date October 9, 2020

This weekend, Austin City Limits showcases a rising star, UK singer-songwriter Yola in a new installment. Performing songs from her 2020 Grammy-nominated Walk Through Fire, along with sparkling renditions of choice classics, the country-soul sensation delivers a 12-song tour-de-force in her ACL debut. Her show was taped in February at ACL’s studio home ACL Live at the Moody Theater in Austin, Texas, before a live audience – like every other show in ACL’s 45-year history. Shortly after, the COVID pandemic hit and ACL ceased all production, only recently resuming tapings – without a live audience. With live music still on pause, ACL continues to provide viewers a front-row seat to the best in live performance. The series airs weekly on PBS stations nationwide (check local listings) and full episodes are made available online for a limited time at pbs.org/austincitylimits immediately following the initial broadcast.

Hailing from the English port city of Bristol, the single-named Americana artist Yola delivers a knockout performance in an hourlong set featuring highlights from her acclaimed debut Walk Through Fire, which earned her four 2020 Grammy nominations, including one for best new artist. She recorded the album with in demand producer (and ACL three-timer) Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys at his Nashville studio. Backed by a quartet, Yola performs almost the entirety of the record in her ACL debut, dazzling with her arresting vocals on an emotion-filled catalog of heartbreak songs that inhabit the sweet spot between 1970s Southern soul and country. Donning her acoustic guitar, she performs “Ride Out in the Country” and unleashes the full power of her magnificent voice for the slowburn “Faraway Look.” The chatty and cheery singer charms the crowd with the stories behind her songs, including the house fire that inspired the album’s title track, transformed into a smoldering love song.

Yola reveals her fondness for 1970s pop classics, captivating the crowd with a deeply soulful reading of the Hollies’ “The Air That I Breathe” and a powerhouse rendition of Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.” Yola brings the house down for the closer, showcasing her gorgeous vocals on the Aretha Franklin gem “You’re All I Need to Get By.”

“Yola may well be the best pure singer on the pop music scene today,” according to ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “She has such an incredible dynamic range, a certain mystical spirit about her, and a devilish sense of humor. What’s not to love?”

Episode setlist:

Lonely the Night

Ride Out in the Country

Shady Grove

Walk Through Fire

Air That I Breathe

Faraway Look

Love is Light

Still Gone

It Ain’t Easier

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

I Don’t Wanna Lie

You’re All I Need to Get By

About Austin City Limits

Tags Dan Auerbach, Yola

New taping: Ray Wylie Hubbard 10/21

Post author By michael
Post date October 7, 2020

photo by David McClister

We here at ACL are excited to announce a long-awaited new taping for Season 46: the great Texas songwriter Ray Wylie Hubbard comes to our stage on October 21.

Austin City Limits is thrilled to welcome legendary Texas troubadour Ray Wylie Hubbard to the stage in his long-awaited ACL debut. When F. Scott Fitzgerald issued his classic conclusion that ‘There are no second acts in American lives,’ he failed to envision the career of this willing conspirator in the late seventies Cosmic Cowboy revolt that ushered in the mythical Outlaw era. The secret handshake amongst those who know, his records have been swapped and played on the road — “Snake Farm” alone could be the red-blooded touring male’s reality-based point of connection. That passion for the man who’s as much a prolific writer as a roadhouse saint brought together an eclectic mix of guests for Co-Starring, his first-ever high-profile label release. Ringo Starr, Joe Walsh, the Black Crowes’ Chris Robinson, Ronnie Dunn, Don Was, Larkin Poe, Pam Tillis and The Cadillac Three were just a few who clamored to jam, sing and generally be in the studio with the wizened icon. The Austin Music and Eric Church-inducted Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Famer exudes earthy, real, funky and unabashed art. Hell-bent for truths and textures in writing about the way outlaws live, it’s all added to his outlier bona fides that he made 16 albums without ever signing to a major label. Hubbard was a catalyst in the cultural upheaval that led to the peaceful coexistence of Lone Star music enthusiasts who comprised each end of the social and political spectrum of that troubled time. In the stellar company of iconic colleagues like Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Doug Sahm and Jerry Jeff Walker, Hubbard was an architect of the musical legacy that continues to inspire subsequent generations of up-and-coming talent. Whether it’s bluegrass/folk legend Peter Rowan on the tender “Hummingbird,” emerging Nashville renegade Ashley McBryde on the tough girl homage “Outlaw Blood,” SiriusXM femme fatales Paula Nelson and Elizabeth Cook on the randy “Drink ‘Til I See Double” or the trippy rocker Aaron Lee Tasjan on the elegiac “Rock Gods,” Co-Starring is a supple, musky affair. The cult hero is the subject of 2019’s “The Messenger: The Songwriting Legacy of Ray Wylie Hubbard” and his 2015 autobiography, “A Life…Well, Lived” traces his remarkable journey from folk gypsy to wizened architect of grit ’n’ groove. Always entertaining in both song and banter, we’re happy to welcome Wimberley’s renegade poet to the ACL stage to kick up some Texas dust.

Tags Ray Wylie Hubbard

Jackie Venson’s stunning ACL debut

Post author By michael
Post date October 2, 2020

photo by Scott Newton

Austin City Limits began as a showcase in 1973 to highlight the fertile Austin, Texas regional music scene, and we returned to our origins last night, showcasing the debut of Austin standout Jackie Venson. The next-generation singer-songwriter-guitar ace has made major waves in her hometown and across the globe over the past few years and we were proud to host her first taping, live streamed around the world.

Wearing a black dress designed by her sister bearing a multitude of names of Black victims of police violence, with the words “Say their names” written down her arm, Venson made a statement even before launching her magnetic set. Performing a number of songs from her upcoming new album Vintage Machine, Venson and her five-piece band opened with “Awake,” a slow-grooving thumper frosted with her delay-soaked Epiphone Les Paul. The staccato beats of “Home” paid tribute to her hometown, before bassist Nick Clark led the musicians into cranking up the groove for the title track “Vintage Machine,” which appropriately felt like a Princely throwback. Comments lit up on the livestream with one viewer raving, “Never heard Jackie before, tuned in because I follow Austin City Limits, this is fantastic.” The perpetually grinning Venson turned to the subject of l’amour for “Keep On,” a reggae tune that still left plenty of room for her frisky axe work. That song crashed directly into the next, a grungy rocker called “Witchcraft,” which immediately blazed into the funky rocker “Next Life.” After shouting out ACL, Venson and the band went into her current single “Make Me Feel,” a slow burn ballad that accented its desire with its composer’s burning licks.

As backup singers Akina Adderley and Kate Priestley left the stage, Venson donned an acoustic guitar and delivered a moving speech in support of Black Lives Matter – “Not the hashtag, not the slogan, not the organization – the people.” Then she played “Back to Earth,” a sophisticated pop song that kept to her words’ spirit, if not the details. Venson then put on a Stratocaster with the comment, “We’re gonna do you Texas style.” She welcomed “Austin’s empress of soul” Tameca Jones to the stage, and the pair dazzled on the blues classic “Texas Flood,” made famous by another Austinite, the late Stevie Ray Vaughan, who also performed the song on his own ACL debut back in 1984. “I think I would’ve been smited if I’d played that song on anything but a Strat,” she remarked. After replacing that guitar with her Les Paul, Venson cranked the funk back up for “Fight,” a socially conscious song featuring a jazzy solo from keyboardist Eddy Hozibal. Rock came back in a big way for “Transcends,” leading Venson to introduce her close-knit band.

The band went back to its tasty blend of funk and rock for the bristling (and inaccurately titled) “LoFi,” before revisiting Venson’s pop side for “Surrender.” The guitar slinger headed into the home stretch with “Go My Way,” a positivity-infused tune that deftly blended R&B of the past and the present. Drummer Rodney Hyder then jumped into the funky backbeat of “Joy,” the show-closer that put all of Venson’s eggs – soulful grooves, pop melodies and powerhouse guitar – into one basket to bring it all home. It was a great debut, and we can’t wait for you to see it when it airs November 14 as part of our Season 46 on your local PBS station.

Tags Jackie Venson, Tameca Jones

Episode Recap Featured New Broadcast News

Austin City Limits’ 46th season opens with the late John Prine

Post author By michael
Post date September 29, 2020

photo by Scott Newton

Live music beacon Austin City Limits proudly opens Season 46 with a gem: a poignant season premiere featuring the best of American songwriting giant John Prine. Sadly we lost Prine in 2020 due to complications from Covid-19, but ACL celebrates his remarkable life and legacy with twelve classic performances, chronicling his early days from his 1978 debut in Season 3 on the program to his final appearance in Season 44 in 2018. The requiem showcases the folk hero’s signature wit and wisdom, detailing the stories behind some of his most beloved songs. Check your local listings for showtimes.

Called “the Mark Twain of American songwriting” by Rolling Stone, Prine made eight appearances on ACL over the course of 40 years, and the career-spanning hour captures his storied career, showcasing a mix of vintage fan favorites and more recent gems and includes a never-before-aired 1987 performance of his classic “Sam Stone.” Prine’s singular talent and his ability to write songs about everyday lives and the human condition were revered by generations of songwriters and the episode features a heartfelt introduction by Americana star Jason Isbell; Isbell introduces the hour saying “The thing I admired most about John’s songs was the way he could step completely into someone else’s life.”

The hour opens with Prine’s 1978 ACL debut, performing a pair of solo acoustic numbers, “Fish and Whistle” and “Hello in There,” as he introduces his immense talents to a rapt audience. Prine’s 1983 appearance as part of a songwriters special, alongside peers such as Guy Clark and Rodney Crowell, is captured here; he captivates the crowd and fellow artists with a hilarious intro to the irreverent relationship saga “There She Goes.” A bonus for fans is a never-before-aired 1987 performance of the addicts elegy “Sam Stone,” with Prine sharing a moving story about a personal visit to DC’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The hour showcases many of his best-known songs, including early standouts “Illegal Smile” and “Paradise” from his self-titled 1971 debut. Celebrated as a great storyteller, Prine sparkles in his introduction to “Jesus, The Missing Years” from 1992, gamely speculating on the deity’s young adulthood and Prine’s own wayward ways. Prine makes a memorable 2002 guest appearance, joining Bonnie Raitt for a gorgeous duet of the Prine-penned “Angel from Montgomery,” in a performance Raitt has called one of the highlights of her career. The hour closes with a pair of songs about mortality from Prine’s last album The Tree of Forgiveness during his final ACL appearance in 2018. Bouncing back and forth between spoken recitation and joyful singing on the closer “When I Get to Heaven,” the songwriter offers a good-time singalong about leaving this world on a high note. Prine couldn’t have written a better epitaph: When he gets to heaven, he tells the Austin crowd, “I’m gonna get a guitar and start a rock ’n’ roll band/check into a swell hotel/ain’t the afterlife grand?”

“Very few artists appeared on ACL more times than John Prine,” said ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “It was a mutual love affair – he loved doing the show, and we loved having him (8 times!!). We consider these his best performances, and as always, he will have you laughing and crying – sometimes both during the same song.”

“John loved to play Austin City Limits and was very proud to have made so many appearances over the years,” said Prine’s widow Fiona Whelan Prine. “Terry Lickona has been a wonderful supporter of John’s career and a good friend to our family. Thank you ACL and Terry for opening your season with this special show.“

Episode setlist:

Fish and Whistle (1978)

Hello in There (1978)

There She Goes (1983)

Sam Stone (1987)

Illegal Smile (1987)

Paradise (1987)

Jesus, The Missing Years (1992)

Everything Is Cool (1992)

Picture Show (1996)

Angel from Montgomery (2002)

Summer’s End (2018)

When I Get to Heaven (2018)

As always, check your local PBS listings for the broadcast time in your area, and don’t forget to click over to our Facebook and Twitter pages or sign up for our newsletter for more ACL info. Join us next week for a brand new episode featuring soulful British songstress Yola.

About Austin City Limits

Austin City Limits (ACL) offers viewers unparalleled access to featured acts in an intimate setting that provides a platform for artists to deliver inspired, memorable, full-length performances. Now in its 46th Season, the program is taped live before a concert audience from The Moody Theater in downtown Austin. Austin City Limits is the longest-running music series in television history and remains the only TV series to ever be awarded the National Medal of Arts. Since its inception, the groundbreaking music series has become an institution that’s helped secure Austin’s reputation as the Live Music Capital of the World. The historic KLRU Studio 6A, home to 36 years of ACL concerts, has been designated an official Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Landmark. In 2011, ACL moved to the new venue ACL Live at The Moody Theater in downtown Austin. ACL received a rare institutional Peabody Award for excellence and outstanding achievement in 2012.

Tags John Prine, season 46